Dairy Internship

The introduction period (initial 2 weeks):

This period consists of practical work and theoretical introduction about production and analysis of dairy products.  The practical part of the course will take place at Kold College, in the dairy pilot plant equipped for manufacture of common dairy products, i.e. with access to standard unit operations and with specialized equipment for dairy processing. In addition, some teaching will take place in laboratories with instrumentation for analysis of milk and dairy product constituents and quality.

The practical part will have the following content:

• Hands-on experience with the common unit operations used in the dairy industry (heating, centrifugation, membrane filtration, homogenization).
• Hands-on processing of common dairy products (treatment of milk, fermented products, milk powder, cheese, ice-cream and butter).
• Practical experience with common analytical methods used in the dairy industry.

Internship period (20 weeks):

The students will have to complete one internship in a dairy plant (i.e. a plant processing cheese, fluid milks, fermented milks, milk powder (including dairy ingredients and/or infant nutrition products), ice cream or butter and dairy spreads, or ingredient supplier, process equipment supplier or at other relevant product manufacturing sites). All internships must be approved by Mejeripraktikudvalget (Dairy Internship Committee) [1].

During the first weeks of the stay, the students are introduced to the company to gain an overview and understanding of processes and flow through the company, from handling raw materials to finished products. This part ends with a report with a description of the company's organization, and a process diagram with explanations about raw materials, production processes and products, as well as a plan for the content of the remaining internship.

The subsequent tasks, to be agreed with the host company, may include, e.g. participation in or execution of projects, or specific work tasks in production and should be aligned with expected tasks encountered when employed in a company after graduation. As at the start of the internship, the students will have completed most of the mandatory courses within dairy technology, the tasks should allow that the acquired knowledge and skills are put into practice while gaining relevant practical and problem-solving experience. Collaboration with different professional groups in the company is expected. A summary of the activities carried out will be presented at the end of the internship at a seminar for all interns, with the participation of representatives from the University of Copenhagen as well as possibly other stakeholders.

[1] Mejeripraktikudvalget (The Dairy Internship Committee) is constituted as follows: One representative from University of Copenhagen, one representative from Kold College, two representatives from Dansk Mejeriingeniørforening (the Union for Danish MSc graduates with a specialization in Dairy Science and Technology), one representative from the plants, one representative from the students and one representative from Mejeribrugets Arbejdsgiverforening (the Danish Dairy Employers´ Association). The committee grants approval of internships subject to an evaluation of whether students can be expected to obtain sufficient and relevant practical knowledge from a specific site.